Ethereum 2.0 is about to launch with the release of the [Beacon Chain](https://beaconscan.com/) in December 2020. This will be the first step toward a full migration **to a Proof-of-Stake (“PoS”) blockchain** that supports innovative features like sharding.

So, why would *anyone* look for alternatives? Well, Ethereum 2.0 will likely take years to be entirely implemented and carries inherent risks due to its experimental nature. Plus, other permissionless blockchains are already here, offering both a low-gas fee and faster transaction finality.

Don’t want to learn a new way to use blockchains? Good for you! Many blockchains are based on Ethereum, meaning you will get up to speed within a few minutes. This article introduces 6 alternative blockchains for you to use or consider before building your future decentralized application.

## Binance Smart Chain (BNB)

[Binance Smart Chain](https://www.binance.org/en/smartChain) (“BSC”) is a blockchain running alongside the existing Binance Chain (that is built with Cosmos' SDK).

Launched in September 2020, Binance Smart Chain is based on a code fork of Ethereum but features a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (“DPoS”) consensus mechanism with **21 validators** and a **3-second block time**. BNB is the native asset of the network, working like ETH on Ethereum.

Fast, it is supported by … (plot twist)… Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. BSC is a **stand-alone network** that can also be used to communicate with the original Binance Chain. Binance Smart Chain features distinct advantages like:

* [A familiar explorer ("BSCScan")](https://bscscan.com/) built by Etherscan teams, making it easy to use for existing Ethereum users.
* **Various pegged assets** (like BTC and LTC), allowing users to use popular cryptocurrencies onto the network.
* **Stablecoins** (e.g., BUSD, USDT, USDC), providing different alternatives for users to use them onto DeFi applications.

## Matic Network (MATIC)

[Matic Network](https://matic.network/) is a layer-2 scaling solution for [Ethereum](https://flyingblock.com/article/what-is-ethereum) with sidechains for off-chain computation. Supporting smart contracts, Matic’s security relies on an implementation of **Plasma** (“Minimum Viable Plasma”) alongside its network of **Proof-of-Stake (“PoS”) validators.**

Launched in May 2020, it has a **3-second block time** and features a trust-less solution for users to move ETH and other ERC-20 tokens from the Matic Network to Ethereum (and vice versa!).

MATIC is the network's native asset: it is used to pay gas and transaction fees on the Matic Network. Compared other EVM-compatible blockchains, Matic Network offers a set of unique differentiating features, such as:

* **Security provided by Ethereum’s mainnet.** While Matic Network is a layer-2 sidechain for Ethereum, its security is assured by public checkpoints periodically pushed to Ethereum blocks, offering protection if the network validators act maliciously.
* **Access to all existing tokens on Ethereum.** Ethereum has the largest number of tokens, both fungible and non-fungible. **All of these assets** can be transferred back and forth, thanks to Plasma and Matic’s own PoS cross-chain bridge.

## TomoChain (TOMO)

[TomoChain](https://tomochain.com/) is a stand-alone programmable blockchain built as a code fork of Ethereum.

Launched in December 2018, TomoChain is built on a consensus algorithm called **Proof of Stake Voting** (“PoSV”) that relies on a network of 150 elected validators (“masternodes”).

Its network has a **2-second block time**, and transactions must be done in TOMO, the protocol's native asset. TomoChain offers competitive advantages such as:

* **A private transaction mechanism** offering anonymity by hiding both receiver & sender addresses and the amount transacted.
* **Innovations at the product level,** including a fee-delegation mechanism for token transfers and a decentralized exchange protocol.
* **A one-stop shop** built by TomoChain teams, with end-user products like a block explorer and a mobile wallet.

## RSK Network (RSK/RBTC)

[RSK](https://www.rsk.co/) Network is a programmable sidechain built on the **Bitcoin blockchain and secured by merged mining.** As of November 2020, around half of the Bitcoin miners are mining RSK tokens.

Launched in January 2018, the network **features a 30-second block time** and its own virtual machine (“RSK Virtual Machine”). Fortunately, it is **compatible with all EVM opcodes,** making it possible for developers to write decentralized applications in Solidity and other high-level languages.

RSK Network requires a native asset identified by the ticker RBTC and is commonly called **Smart Bitcoin**. It is pegged 1:1 to BTC, such as 1 RBTC = 1 BTC. Similar to ethers in Ethereum, RBTC is used to pay for transaction fees and smart-contract execution. RBTC is created by sending BTC to a multi-signature address (in the Bitcoin mainnet blockchain) whose keys are held by the RSK Federation. RSK Network offers distinct advantages such as:

* **Security provided by Bitcoin’s miners.** Bitcoins’s blockchain has, by far, the largest number of proof of work committed to securing its network, making RSK relatively secure (instead of competing for the same miners).
* **Bitcoin (BTC) as the native asset.** Since bitcoin’s market cap represents **more than half the total industry’s capitalization**, RSK offers new possibilities for building a complete decentralized economy with an asset whose market cap is worth more than $300 billion.

## xDAI Chain (xDAI/STAKE)

Founded by a partnership between POA Network and MakerDAO, [xDAI Chain](https://www.xdaichain.com/) is a **Proof-of-Autonomy blockchain** (often called **the first stable chain)** and is EVM-compatible (supporting smart contract!s). It relies on a **two-token model** with (1) **xDAI** being used for transactions, payments & fees while (2) **STAKE** tokens being used to support the network’s consensus.

xDAIs are MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoins that work as the native asset of the network for users. DAI stablecoins can be transferred back and forth from Ethereum to xDAI Chain with [TokenBridge](https://docs.tokenbridge.net/xdai-bridge/about). Proof of Autonomy is a Proof-of-Authority (“PoA”) consensus where validators are managed by a DAO and elected by STAKE token-holders.

xDAI Chain features a **5-second block time** and meager **transaction fee**, with 500 transactions average a total cost of ~$ 0.01. It features competitive advantages, such as:

* **No price volatility** from the perspective of users. Users do not need to accept the price fluctuation of the asset used to transact in the network.
* **High-quality protocols** with platforms like [Perpetual Protocol](https://perp.fi/) (a 20x leverage trading service) and [Circles](https://joincircles.net/) (a basic income experiment), which have decided to launch on xDAI Chain.

## TRON (TRX)

[TRON](https://tron.network/) is a programmable blockchain launched in July 2018 by Justin Sun, following a $70-million Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”). While having its share of controversies and criticisms over the years, TRON has grown to become one of the most used distributed networks, per number of users.

TRON is a Proof-of-Stake (“PoS”) blockchain, featuring its own native asset called **TRX**. The network’s consensus is maintained by a set of **27 Super Representatives**, who both generate and validate blocks within a **3-second block time**.

Despite TRON sharing most of its source code from Ethereum, it features its own virtual machine called the **Tron Virtual Machine (“TVM”)** that is fully compatible with high-level languages like Solidity. TRON features a unique value proposition with elements, such as:

* [Over 1000 dApps](https://www.dapp.com/dapps/tron), focusing on gambling applications (e.g., WINk, 888Tron) and DEXs (e.g., PoloniDEX).
* More than **$2 billion worth of stablecoins,** primarily in USD Tether (“USDT”).
* A dedicated sidechain called the [SUN Network](https://tron.network/sunnetwork/).

## Final words

Ethereum may be seen as a mammoth, yet it is **stable, decentralized**, and has, by far, **the largest number of third-party applications, developers & unique users**.

These blockchains all offer greater speed and lower transaction speed, but there is **much more to that**. Most of these Ethereum competitors have also provided competitive features such as:

* Design innovation (e.g., TomoChain, xDAI Chain)
* Security enforced by the safest networks (e.g., Matic, RSK)
* Support by major companies in the space (e.g., BSC & Binance, TRON & Tether).

In short, **programmable blockchains are much more than just Ethereum, and as adoption continues, a larger set of networks is bound to co-exist in the future.**

Discover Ethereum's most promising competitors with EVM compatibility.

6 Alternatives to Ethereum That Are Compatible with the EVM

## Description

The Baseline Protocol is an open-source initiative, built on the public Ethereum blockchain, that attempts *“to deliver secure and private business processes at low cost”*.

Built by Ernst & Young (EY) and ConsenSys, it was launched in March 2020 as part of the [Ethereum OASIS project](https://github.com/ethereum-oasis) and supported by an initial pool of 14 companies, including Microsoft and other participants of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance.

The Baseline Protocol finds its foundation on Ethereum: its mission is to become *“the common frame of reference between systems”* by **leveraging the Ethereum public blockchain as a settlement layer**. This protocol wishes to include normal corporate systems of record, any kind of database, state machine, and potentially include other blockchains (or distributed ledgers).

Despite its nascency, Baseline Protocol has already featured an initial proof of concept for supply chain applications, allowing participants to participate in a transparent product procurement process. Its demo protocol, named Radish34, attempts to solve the issue of knowledge privacy in public blockchains through the **use of atomic compartmentalization**.

## What problems does Baseline solve?

EY and ConsenSys concluded that proprietary systems for businesses often lead to severe issues in how data is shared from one system to the other. Consequently, hundreds of millions of dollars are reportedly being spent on ERPs, CRMs, and other internal systems that are designed to record proprietary information of all kinds.

Furthermore, this “lack of synchronization” between systems is estimated to cause a lot of disruptions in how businesses operate. This leads to clear consequences ranging from direct costs to regulatory actions, and data information leakage.

As a consequence, the teams behind the Baseline Protocol believe in establishing a “common frame of reference” (i.e., the Baseline Protocol), with **Ethereum serving as its foundation layer**.

## Core components of the Baseline Protocol

The Baseline Protocol acts as the standardized library of components allowing multiple Middleware to build their proprietary applications, yet making them fully interoperable. The protocol leverages the use of Ethereum (referred to as “Mainnet”) without the need to reveal sensitive data to a public network.

### Mainnet: Ethereum as a foundation layer

Ethereum (“Mainnet”) acts as the foundation layer of the Baseline Protocol. According to its documentation, it serves as the “public good” for enterprises to build data management solutions thanks to Ethereum’s perceived properties of decentralization and censorship-resistance.

In short, Mainnet is considered as the state machine equivalent of the Internet. Within the Baseline protocol, [Ethereum](https://flyingblock.com/article/what-is-ethereum) serves the purpose of being the Mainnet candidate of choice.

### Middleware: proprietary software solutions

In the Baseline Protocol, Middleware are interpreted as systems of record that are maintained by legal entities that wish to establish a common frame of reference to run business process integration across them.

For instance, let’s assume two suppliers need to work together on sharing their inventories: Alice is an Apple Retailer and is the sole supplier of Apple products for Bob, an electronic retailer. Bob wants to notify in real-time that its supply of MacBook Pro runs low, and need to order new computers. However, he does not wish to share information about his entire inventory. Typically, Alice and Bob would run different systems together with alternative proprietary software solutions. A protocol like Baseline would contribute to connecting both Middleware, fostering the use of Ethereum, owing to the baselining of their respective ERPs.

### A standardized library of components and procedures

The Baseline Protocol consists of a **library of components and procedures** that aim to become the standard in multiple industries by maintaining both record consistency and workflow integrity through the use of a permissionless blockchain (i.e., Ethereum, also referred to as “Mainnet”).

By doing so, the Baseline Protocol still allows the separation of multiple systems of records between parties, yet, leveraging the decentralization and distributed properties of Ethereum.

## How does atomic compartmentalization work?

In general, two transacting parties (in this case, businesses) need not have access to all information from other parties. Precisely, one party does not need to know any information or process it has no stake in.

Conversely, the use of public permissionless networks like Ethereum is typically seen as fully transparent to third parties. Anyone can analyze the blockchain and obtain valuable information about a single account pattern, as best illustrated by the growth of various on-chain analytics companies. In short, no business would be keen to share information about its internal processes to the public. For instance, employees' payrolls would typically not be data that are desirable to be shared where anyone can freely consult the figures.

Yet, the use of a single frame of reference is required for two parties to maintain consistency and continuity with other state machines.

Atomic compartmentalization refers to a proposed property that must be achieved by the Baseline Protocol to make it viable for businesses to implement solutions on it.

Atomic compartmentalization is defined as:

> a Workflow that can restrict access and awareness to a specific set of parties down to a single step or record.

Meanwhile, a Workflow relates to:

> a series of steps that constitute a coherent business process between a set of counter-parties.

To achieve atomic compartmentalization, the Baseline Protocol relies on a set of steps, including the **breaking of tasks in a workflow in discrete events.**

## Should I use the Baseline Protocol?

Baseline Protocol relies on the idea that through the establishment of a *“common frame of reference”*, enterprises could save hundreds of $ millions of unnecessary costs thanks to synergies through the use of a **unique standard for recording and sharing data**.

Worth noting, this solution differs from the usual dichotomy between permissioned and permissionless networks, and the rigid concept of private vs. public networks. Instead, it directly targets enterprise systems vendors, and other cloud providers by emphasizing the nature of [Ethereum](https://flyingblock.com/article/what-is-ethereum) as the **state machine equivalent of the Internet**.

Currently, Baseline's development approach finds its roots in its supply chain example that is being generalized into a set of libraries, forming the core Baseline Protocol, which would apply to a wider range of industries.

However, it remains to be seen whether the protocol would find its niche owing to its nascency, being **still in development while the documentation is being written** as of now.

With the support of Microsoft, it is very likely that popular solutions like Microsoft Azure, its cloud computing service, may experiment with the use of Baseline Protocol, leading to sustained interest in the protocol from other parties.

Built by Ernst & Young (EY) and ConsenSys, Baseline Protocol is an enterprise solution built on the public Ethereum network.

What is Baseline Protocol?

## Description

Quorum is an open-source permissioned blockchain platform, built as a fork of the public version of Ethereum ("go-ethereum"). It was launched in 2017 by J.P. Morgan and has been actively developed since then.

Built by J.P. Morgan, one of the largest financial institutions in the world (and early member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance), its mission is to **foster the adoption of blockchain technology in a "seamless" process by providing a complete white-label solution**, featuring a dedicated full-service support service.

Quorum relies on the support of the vast [Ethereum community](https://flyingblock.com/article/what-is-ethereum) for the core infrastructure, yet, by added enhancements to cater to distinct enterprise needs. For instance, it allows the **implementation of privacy features**, and features a permissioned infrastructure, offering clients the opportunity to choose and implement one amongst several Proof-of-Authority ("PoA") algorithms.

Despite its nascency, it has received broad interest from many enterprises, with the most notable being Microsoft and ConsenSys. Since its launch, Quorum has not only been tested by multiple financial institutions (e.g., MUFG) but also a more extensive range of enterprises, notably including Starbucks, Shell, and BP.

## What problems does Quorum attempt to solve?

Quorum attempts to **solve the privacy issue of Ethereum** to make it usable for enterprise solutions while fostering the existing development resources from Ethereum, the world's largest programmable blockchain by market capitalization.

Quorum initially focused on use cases within the financial industry before expanding to a broader set of industries (like supply chain management). Yet, for instance, Quorum can tackle problems with payment and settlement of business operations, which are often a succession of bilateral transfers that sometimes result in information loss.

To do so, it relies on the use of additional cryptographic techniques to prevent all except those parties to the transaction from seeing sensitive data. These changes apply at the protocol scope, through the **introduction of private transactions**. At the nature of the network, Quorum is permissioned for nodes participating in the consensus.

## Core components of Quorum

### Privacy features and private smart contracts

Similar to Ethereum, Quorum is a fully EVM-compatible distributed ledger and supports smart contracts to create all sorts of programmable applications and related units of value.

To cater to business needs, Quorum supports privacy features to allow hidden transactions, including transfers and smart contracts. Built as a "consortium chain", Quorum expands the Ethereum Transaction Model to account for additional privacy parameters for transactions.

In Quorum, a dichotomy between public and private status is established at the transaction level:

* **Public transactions** are defined as similar to regular Ethereum transactions. Any node can read them, including the payload and other information, from them.
* **Private transactions** allow parties to hide the content of the transactions from the rest of the network, through the use of a dedicated parameter to include the **list of public addresses that can see the payload**.

To support this distinction of privacy status, Quorum **requires the use of a privacy manager**.

### Privacy managers

Quorum supports the choice amongst two privacy managers for participants to exchange with private transactions: Tessera (in development) and Constellation (its reference but being deprecated).

Tessara is built as a stateless Java system and is used to encrypt/decrypt and distribute private transactions for Quorum. Constellation is a self-managing, peer-to-peer system, built as a Haskell library.

Both systems allow nodes to:

* Host and generate sets of public/private key pairs
* Discover other nodes
* Provide public API for other nodes to transact with them (for public transactions)
* Provide private API
* A TLS authentication system
* Connect to databases (e.g., JDBC for Tessara) and other backend storage solutions
* Support IP whitelists

### Proof-of-Authority ("PoA") consensus algorithms

Unlike Ethereum, Quorum relies on a Proof-of-Authority algorithm.

Quorum supports the choice of three algorithms:

1. **Raft-based** – A consensus model for faster block times, transaction finality, and on-demand block creation.
2. **Istanbul BFT** (Byzantine Fault Tolerance) – A PBFT-inspired consensus algorithm with immediate transaction finality.
3. **Clique POA Consensus** – A default POA consensus algorithm supported natively with the go-ethereum library.

| Consensus | Description | Fault tolerance | Forkable |
| --------- | ----------- | --------------- | -------- |
| Raft | Leader/Follower process: nodes follow the block leader. Only mint blocks if at least 1 transaction in a block. Fast block times. Best if no concern about any malicious behavior from parties. | Raft can tolerate up to 2f +1 nodes with f: number of faulty nodes. | Not possible |
| Istanbul BFT | Leaderless: multiple rounds of voting by the set of validators to arrive at a mutual agreement. Empty blocks can be produced. Best if there is any threat of malicious behavior from other parties. | Istanbul BFT can tolerate up to 2f +1 nodes with f: number of faulty nodes. | Not possible |
| Clique POA | Signers ("approved accounts") validate transactions and blocks. Signers take turns to create the next block. Empty blocks can be produced. Best if there is any concern about malicious behavior from a party (however, it may lead to forks) | Clique POA can tolerate up to 2f + 1 nodes with f: number of faulty nodes. | Possible |

Regardless of the selected consensus, each of them is designed to support multiple permissioning models, with different features.

### A permissioning system

Quorum also offers the choice of two permissioning systems:

* **Basic Network Permissioning Model** – At each node level, a whitelist of nodes is defined to control who can connect to it.
* **Enhanced Network Permissioning Model** – It features a smart-contract permissioning model and allows the definition of organizations being defined part of the network, with sub-organizations.

In the Enhanced Network Model, each of the organizations features accounts (similar to EOA in Ethereum), nodes (a network node), and roles (a dedicated job for each party). This model is defined in a library of smart contracts written in Solidity.

## Should I use Quorum?

Quorum is a **one-stop infrastructure**, built on a fork of Ethereum source code, allowing it to integrate updates and feedback from the Ethereum open-source developer community. With only minimal changes to the core source code of Ethereum (e.g., the separation between public and private transactions does not conflict with it), any **future upgrade on the Ethereum open-source code will continue to be added to Quorum**.

Unlike competitors, Quorum is designed as a stand-alone solution, built for use cases mostly within an enterprise. As a result, its use as a white-label solution does not cater to the interoperability of processes across companies.

Quorum is built on solid foundations, supported by J.P. Morgan, one of the largest financial institutions with strong roots in technological advancement, and Microsoft, a leading multinational technology company. While J.P. Morgan's ability to pioneer new technology and foster development in the financial industry is well known, it is once again illustrated by one of the Quorum's initial pilots: J.P. Morgan's Interbank Information Network (IIN). As of July 2020, over 400 institutions worldwide supported this project.

However, J.P. Morgan is currently in discussion with ConsenSys on **whether to spin-off Quorum from its operations**, either by establishing a joint venture or setting up an open-source foundation. Hence, it remains to be seen what the **long-term implications** of such a strategic choice on its competitive positioning are.

Built by JP Morgan & supported by Microsoft, Quorum is a permissioned version of Ethereum for enterprise needs.

What is Quorum?

## Description

Ethereum is a public permissionless blockchain created by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, with the Ethereum whitepaper’s release. Designed to become the "World Computer", Ethereum’s first block was mined in 2015.

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum has been designed to develop decentralized and distributed applications and was the first blockchain to support smart contracts. To write code, developers use Solidity, a high-level programming language designed for Ethereum. These are compiled onto the Ethereum Virtual Machine ("EVM") to the bytecode level, comprised of OPcodes.

Each operation on the network costs **gas fees paid in ether** ("ETH"), the native currency of Ethereum. For instance, transfer of assets, interaction with, and deployment of smart contracts cost gas fees.

## What problems does Ethereum attempt to solve?

Ethereum finds its roots from the prior launch of Bitcoin, which has introduced the blockchain to the world. Despite the possibility of adding smart contracts on Bitcoin, its range of applications remained restricted (use of Script’s [OPcodes](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script#Opcodes)) and not directly incorporated into the network logic.

Ethereum introduces a different model called the account model and features complete support of smart contracts dedicated to building applications for business. As a result, Ethereum increased Bitcoin’s scope from being a "programmable currency" to a "programmable network" that remains **both decentralized and distributed globally**.

Currently a Proof-of-Work ("PoW") blockchain, Ethereum is expected to migrate to a Proof-of-Stake ("PoS") consensus mechanism in late 2020, through the launch of ETH 2.0.

## Core components of Ethereum

### Consensus finding and permissionless

Ethereum is a blockchain operated by a network of nodes globally distributed. Anyone can run a node to monitor the network activity and broadcast transactions onto the network: this is why Ethereum is defined as a **public permissionless blockchain**. Similarly, there are no restrictions to create an account (defined as an external owned address or EOA), as any individual can create as many addresses by generating different private keys.

As of now, Ethereum’s consensus is based on a Proof-of-Work mechanism ("**ETHhash**") but is expected to transition to Proof of Stake, with the launch of ETH 2.0.

### Account model

Ethereum relies on the account model, which contrasts with the UTXO model from Bitcoin. In the account model, a global state stores the list of accounts, including **balances, code, and internal storage**.

In Ethereum, there are two types of accounts: **Externally Owned Accounts ("EOA") and Contract Accounts**. Each transaction becomes valid only if the sending account has enough balance. If so, the sending account is debited, and the receiver’s account gets credited with the value.

If the receiving account is not an EOA, its code runs, which can change the internal storage. Also, the code may even create additional messages to other accounts, leading to the additional transfer of balances across accounts.

### Smart contracts and the Ethereum Virtual Machine ("EVM")

Ethereum is a programmable blockchain that supports smart contracts.

Ethereum is **Turing-complete**: any type of computation is accepted but remains bounded by gas fees. In computation, a system is said to be Turing-complete if it can perform any logical step of a computational function. However, to prevent endless faulty executions (e.g., infinite loop), Ethereum introduces gas fees.
Users specify the maximum amount of gas to pay for a transaction. This puts a limit at the execution time since all operations cost money and prevent congestion on the Ethereum network. If there is not enough gas, it will return an error ("out of gas"), and the state will be reverted.

Contracts are written in higher-level languages (e.g., Solidity, Vyper) and then compiled to low-level EVM bytecode.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (”EVM”) is the virtual stack embedded with all Ethereum nodes. Each of these nodes agrees to execute bytecode instructions similarly. Since any node can run the code, the Ethereum Virtual Machine is deterministic, with transaction outcomes being certified.

Once a transaction is sent, validators must verify that the transaction is valid, that there were enough funds to pay for the transaction execution, and that there was no exception during the execution. If any of these conditions are not met, the state is reverted (but fees are not returned to the party initiating the transaction).

## Should I use Ethereum?

Ethereum has continuously run for more than five years and has become the leading network for third-party developers to deploy and implement decentralized applications and other utility tokens. Its most popular segments include decentralized financial applications, stablecoins, initial coin offerings ("ICO"), and collectible items ("NFT").

Any enterprise interested in exploring blockchain technology should first start with Ethereum to understand how to deploy contracts and the implications of smart contract immutability. Since multiple enterprise-built blockchains are forked from Ethereum (e.g., Quorum, Hyperledger Besu), Ethereum’s set of contracts is completely re-usable onto these networks.

The full transition to ETH 2.0 will take many years but make Ethereum more scalable thanks to the use of sharding and other scalability & privacy features. However, concerns remain on **how composability will occur due to the use of shard chains**, which break the state of Ethereum into multiple parts.

In short, as illustrated by the recent release of the [Baseline Protocol](https://flyingblock.com/article/what-is-baseline-protocol) on the Ethereum public mainnet, Ethereum is here to stay, serving as the core layer and base implementation for the majority of public, private, permissioned, and permissionless applications.

Ethereum is a permissionless blockchain supporting smart contracts and widely used for decentralized applications.

What is Ethereum?

Since its creation in 2015 by the Linux Foundation, solutions from Hyperledger have been criticized for its permissioned nature, which marked a drastic shift from the approach of public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This article describes Hyperledger and the primary problem it aims at solving. It also introduces the wide range of solutions and libraries under the Hyperledger umbrella (e.g., Fabric, Besu) to determine whether Hyperledger's tools can fit your needs.

## Description

Hyperledger is a suite of open-source blockchain solutions, including multiple frameworks and tools, established by the Linux Foundation in 2015.Hyperledger is supported by companies, notably IBM, Intel, Accenture, Airbus, and some Japanese enterprises (e.g., Hitachi, NEC, Fujitsu).According to its charter, Hyperledger’s mission is to establish an open-source distributed ledger framework. It features a complete code base, serving business and enterprise needs, whereby users build and operate multiple *“applications, platforms, and hardware systems to support business transactions”*. Furthermore, the teams from Hyperledger aim to bolster the growth of a technical open-source community, working with companies in the ecosystem dedicated to growing the use of distributed ledgers for business applications.

## What problems do Hyperledger attempt to solve?

Hyperledger finds roots in the Linux Foundation’s acknowledgment that blockchains are capable of improving data transparency and solving existing trust issues, yet, these were hindered by political views owing to the status of an underlying cryptocurrency (e.g., "ETH", "BTC").Hence, Hyperledger’s mission focuses on the development of an umbrella of multiple open-source solutions, including stand-alone products, libraries, and other tools to foster the use of blockchain technology across a wide variety of businesses.

**Figure 1 - Hyperledger range of solutions, libraries, and other tools**![Hyperledger suite](https://d2d6lp6mpeu2e4.cloudfront.net/articles/1596360166136.png)
*Source: Flying Block, Hyperledger. *Hyperledger is comprised of multiple distributed ledger solutions, toolkits, and libraries.**

## **A look at Hyperledger’s distributed ledger solutions**

**Unlike protocols like Baseline, the whole suite of open-source solutions from Hyperledger rely mostly on permissioned networks, with participant identities clearly stated, yet, with some exceptions. Hyperledger is developing six open-source blockchain solutions:* **Fabric** - the most popular solution from Hyperledger. Fabric is a stand-alone distributed ledger enterprise solution built around the concepts of modularity and flexibility to cater for a wide range of use cases.* **Besu** - an Ethereum client, targeting enterprises, for use cases including public and private permissioned networks.

* **Sawtooth**  — A distributed ledger with an architecture purposely separating the core system from the application domain. Each set of smart contracts operate independently from the core system architecture, allowing flexibility for unique business needs.
* **Burrow**  — A single-binary blockchain distribution with a focus on simplicity, speed, and developer ergonomics, supporting multiple virtual machines (e.g., EVM, WASM).
* **Indy**  — A complete library with tools and various components that allow the management of identities on blockchains, across multiple applications. While fully interoperable with other blockchains, it is also usable as a stand-alone solution to power a permissioned identity management network.
* **Iroha**  — With a focus on Internet of Things (“IoT”) use cases, Iroha is a distributed ledger with a focus on simplicity and easiness to integrate into IoT projects.

### Summary of Hyperledger’s set of blockchain architecture

| Product | Description | Smart contract | Use cases | Consensus | Nature |
|--|--|--|--|--|--|
| Fabric | A stand-alone permissioned DLT for enterprises. | Go, Java | Whitelabel enterprise solutions | Flexible | Private/Permissioned |
| Besu | A Java-based permissioned version of Ethereum, with added privacy options | Solidity, DAML (EVM) | Whitelabel enterprise solutions | PoW, PoA (IBFT/Clique) | Public or Private/Permissioned |
| Sawtooth | A distributed ledger separating the core architecture and smart contracts | Python, JavaScript, Go, C++, Java,"Rust Solidity" (with Sawtooth-EVM) | General public | PoET, PoA (RAFT/PBFT) | Public or Private/Permissioned or Permissionless |
| Burrow (Incubation) | A single-binary permissioned EVM-compatible blockchain | Solidity (EVM) Experimental languages (WASM) | Lightweight product supporting EVM-compatibility with Tendermint. | PoET, PoA(RAFT/PBFT) | Public or Private/Permissioned or Permissionless |
| Indy | A library for identity management, featuring the use of zero-knowledge proof. | - | Identity management solution that can be referenced by smart contracts in blockchains. Can also be implemented as a stand-alone solution. |
| Iroha | A permissioned distributed ledger for IoT projects | C++ | Lightweight network built for Internet of Things and other mobile applications. | YAC (Yet Another Consensus) - a distinct vote-based consensus mechanism | Private/Permissioned |

## Other libraries and tools from Hyperledger

Besides the above range of distributed ledger solutions, Hyperledger also features a set of libraries and tools.

### Hyperledger libraries

As of writing, there are five core libraries from Hyperledger:

* **Aries** - A shared, reusable, and interoperable toolkit that is designed for digital credentials. Aries focuses on solutions to create, transfer, and store credentials.
* **Grid**  — A standardized set of implementations for supply chain use-cases, which cover data types, data models, and smart-contract business logic.
* **Quilt** — An implementation of the Interledger protocol in Java, i.e., an open protocol suite for sending payments across different ledgers.
* **Transact**  — A standard interface for smart contract execution that is separate from the distributed ledger implementation (introducing the concept of “smart contract engines”).
* **Ursa**  — A shared cryptographic library for Hyperledger and non-Hyperledger ledgers. It implements mechanisms to avoid duplicating other cryptographic work and subsequently increase security in blockchain processes.

### Hyperledger tools

As of writing, there are five primary tools from Hyperledger:

* **Avalon** — An implementation tool of the [Trusted Compute Specifications](https://entethalliance.org/enterprise-ethereum-alliance-releases-dff-chain-trusted-compute-specification-1-0/) published by the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
* **Cactus**  — An integration tool designed to allow individuals to incorporate different blockchains into their respective business processes.
* **Caliper** — A benchmark tool dedicated to blockchain performance analysis. It allows individuals to measure the performance of a specific blockchain implementation based on a subset of defined use cases.
* **Cello** — An on-demand “as-a-service” ("AAS") deployment model for any blockchain aimed at reducing all the effort required for creating, managing, and terminating blockchains.
* **Explorer**  — This offers tools for users to view, query, and monitor blocks, transactions, and data, along with other information such as metrics about transactions or the network itself.

## Should I use Hyperledger?

As of today, Hyperledger is the largest umbrella of open-source blockchain solutions tailored to enterprise use cases. With more than a dozen products, including libraries, tools, and other white-label blockchains, the Hyperledger suite attempts to cater to a large number of use cases in multiple real-world industries such as supply chain, real estate, and financial services. Furthermore, large companies have been implementing solutions for it, mostly on Fabric. Notably, IBM, the technology giant, solely relies on Hyperledger solutions for its blockchain range of activities. However, there might be multiple drawbacks due to this diversity of offerings. Amongst them, some are:

* **Unequal development stages between products** — While products like Fabric are fully enterprise-ready, others are still in relatively nascent stages, with smaller communities, and several pending (unresolved) issues according to our analysis of their GitHub public repositories. Similarly, code coverage varies greatly amongst solutions.
* **“Winner takes all”** — Since the Hyperledger suite of products is large, developers would likely prefer to focus on a subset of products, due to network effects. In comparison, competing products like Quorum or Corda have a single product that bolsters a development community.
* **High learning curves** — All products are native implementations, leading to learning curves for third-party developers in the blockchain industry. The main exception is Hyperledger Besu that is forked from the Ethereum Java source code, which has, unfortunately, been deprecated. In comparison, a solution like Quorum is built as a fork of “go-ethereum”, making it easy to incorporate future improvement from Ethereum’s public source code. As Hyperledger’s foundation rejects the “one size fits all” idea, most of your needs likely have a solution in the Hyperledger suite.

All articles about solution profiles

What are the best blockchains? Amongst the large variety of distributed ledgers, discover the leading blockchains with our range of solutions profiles.